


The Bad Guys (Make The Best Good Guys)

by coramalias



Category: Leverage, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-19
Updated: 2016-07-19
Packaged: 2018-07-25 08:56:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7526464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coramalias/pseuds/coramalias
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The rich and powerful, they take what they want. We steal it back for you. We provide... leverage.</p><p>*The most entertaining part of this fic is probably going to be yours truly stumbling through tech terminology. It's not my strong suit, but I'm trying.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Bad Guys (Make The Best Good Guys)

**Author's Note:**

> nobody asked for this but i did it anyway. please let me know if there are any errors, grammatically or otherwise. most of this is directly related to the first episode of leverage, but the rest of the fic isn't just a re-hash of leverage i promise.

James Kirk was an honest man.

At least, that's what people told him. Maybe it was the fact that he was Iowa born and raised. As if living in the midwest automatically made him a good samaritan. Maybe it was said out of pity for the man who lost everything. He doesn't have anything else, least of all dignity, but at least he's honest. Whichever it was, the man sitting at the barstool next to him certainly believed it.

"I've read all about you," he was saying, fiddling his hands anxiously on the bar as he waited for his drink, "I know, for example, you uncovered that terrorist Harrison. Saved Starfleet what - 200, 300 lives?"

Jim didn't respond, just took another long swig from his glass. He was probably going to need it.

"I just know that when you needed them."

A pause.

"What happened on that colony, it's a kind of thing -"

"You know, there's part of the conversation when I punch you in the neck 9 or 10 times. And we're coming up on that pretty quick." The man paled, but thankfully dropped the subject.

"I have a job for you." Ah, so he stopped the sympathy routine. 

Jim chuckled. "Who do you need tracked down?"

"Not who, but what. Somebody stole my starship designs and I want you to steal them back for me."

Bewildered, Jim could only blink as the man held out his hand to shake. "I'm Gary Mitchell."

Five minutes later had Jim and Mr. Mitchell sitting across from each other at a table tucked into the corner of the bar. Mitchell had a stack of PADDs in front of him and was tapping his foot in staccato.

"How can you be sure Cochrane stole your designs?"

Mitchell scoffed. "Please. My chief engineer goes missing and a week later Cochrane announces an identical project."

"Just seems like a huge risk, is all." Jim muttered into his scotch.

"Mr. Kirk, it's the only way I'll be able to keep my job," Mitchell swallowed thickly, "I'll give you 300,000 for it."

Jim whistled in appreciation. "You've certainly got deep pockets."

"The other three thought so too." He pulled each PADD from the stack and laid them in front of Jim.

"Nyota Uhura," Jim said thoughtfully as he combed through the files. 

"You know her?"

He smiled. "I've chased all of them at one time or another. But, Spock?"

"I heard he was the best." Mitchell said with a hint of defensiveness.

"Oh, he is," Jim assured him, "just a little. . . ah, well, you'll see soon enough."

Jim crossed his arms and decided to wrap this shindig up before it wasted any more of their time. "As flattered as I am by the offer, Mr. Mitchell, I have to tell you: I'm not a thief."

"I know that, I already have 3 thieves. And I don't trust a damned one of them not to screw me over if it suits them. What I need is an honest man to look after them and make sure my designs are safe. I need you, Kirk."

"Unfortunately, I don't need your money." Jim said sympathetically, ready to leave the conversation already.

Mitchell smiled. "Oh, but the money isn't the big payday for you. Not only is Cochrane in a close contract with Starfleet, but his designs are all insured by IYS."

Aw, hell. "When do I start?"

***

"Spock, here's your earpiece."

A blur of black cables came into Nyota's view, followed by the vision of a Vulcan hanging upside down from scaffolding like a sloth.

He held out his hand expectantly. She dropped the earpiece into his palm and told herself firmly not to giggle at the halo of bangs that hung helplessly as he dangled. He thanked her and effortlessly returned to his previous position.

"This mic works out of vibrations in your jaw," she explained while tucking one into her own ear, "You can hear everything."

"Good. Can everyone hear me?" 

"Yes, Captain." Her second companion drawled, adjusting his earpiece.

"Very funny, Sulu." Nyota ignored them and double checked that all of her equipment was in place. She could never be too careful, especially considering her current company.

"So you aren't completely useless after all." Sulu said with a grin. She raised her brows in surprise. He was obviously talking to her; his body had turned toward her and he was making eye contact. It had been a long time since anyone had questioned her abilities. She wasn't thrilled that it was happening again.

"I don't even know what you do."

"I'm here to collect the merchandise." He explained ominously.

"Yeah, sounds real useful." She said with an eye roll.

"Guys, listen up, you're gonna go on my count, not a second sooner," Kirk's voice demanded from the earpiece, "Spock, no freelancing."

"Hey, relax. We know what we're doing." Nyota muttered, slinging the duffle bag over her shoulder.

"And on the count of five."

"Four."

"Three."

A rattling sound as Spock hopped off the scaffolding and took a running start toward the edge of the building, leaping off with his hands outstretched.

"Well, he sure isn't a team player," Sulu sighed, "Spock's gone."

"Son of a bitch."

"Mr. Kirk, there is no need for vulgar language," Spock explained as he presumably hung headfirst from the top of Cochrane's skyscraper, "I merely took advantage of the optimal wind speed and direction that allowed for the smallest margin of error."

"Whatever, Spock, just watch out for the vibration detectors."

"They will not be a problem." Spock replied casually. Nyota hoped he was right; he was their only way in. 

A few moments later, Spock's voice crackled in her ear. "The alarms are no longer functional. You may proceed." 

"Fantastic, Spock. Uhura, grab those cameras." 

"Already on it, boss." She was only half paying attention to Kirk, too focused on rerouting the security cameras to image displays more useful to her interests. 

"Let's go." Sulu clapped her on the shoulder and started off in the direction of the macitence door. She tucked her PADD in it's bag and followed a step behind. 

"We may have a problem, Mr. Kirk." Nyota groaned internally at the series of stairs awaiting her. The things she did for a decent heist. This was certainly a problem, only probably not the kind Spock was talking about. 

"What is it?" Kirk asked. 

"If the cameras Ms. Uhura has just given us access to are to be believed, there are eight guards listed on a duty roster, and there are only four at the guardpost." 

"They're doing their rounds early?" Sulu whispered urgently as he ushered Nyota into the door to their floor destination. 

"Probably," Kirk mused, "considering a playoff game is on tonight. They'll want to be back in time to watch it." 

"How cute." Nyota deadpanned. Her fingers nearly fumbled at her urgency to retrieve her phone from it's pocket and attach the RFID emulator to the door lock in question. 

"They're almost on you. Cut off their communication to homebase. Send static noise through their communicators." 

"On it," she left her phone dangling from the lock. Her personalized programming would insure that the job was done whether or not she was there to babysit it. A few inputs of code had Kirk's desired result. She felt a strange sense of pride as the guards winced at the onslaught of noise. 

"Nice work. Sulu, clear the zone and use Uhura as bait." 

Nyota stiffened and her head shot up. "Bait?" She asked the suddenly empty hallway. *** 

There was a lot of exuberant grunting coming from Spock's earpiece. 

He spared a few brief moments from monitoring the security cameras to hypothesize what was happening on the 67th floor. It was most likely that Mr. Sulu was engaging in a physical fight, given his reputation and self-proclaimed area of expertise. Spock had, as the saying goes, done his homework on his teammates before agreeing to the job. Mr. Sulu's career was a long and messy one. His involvement in foreign wars was as extensive as it was difficult to prove. The man kept a very low profile. Despite this, Spock's sleuthing abilities were able to uncover a troubling past filled with violence. If he were prone to emotional outbursts, Spock would almost be intimidated by him. 

Nyota Uhura was a different matter all together. Although she was now ruthlessly arguing with trained mercenary over Spock's earpiece, she had a much less volatile career. Her specialty was high-end jewelry and works of art. Even from the small amount of time Spock had spent in her presence, he could tell she was a woman who commanded an aura of respect when she walked into a room. He was, thus, taken aback by Mr. Sulu's blatant disregard for her regality. 

To be concise, they were fascinating. 

"Do you have the designs?" Kirk asked. 

"Yes. I'm wiping the mainframe now and leaving a few surprises for them in the morning." She sounded delighted by the prospect. 

"Did you leave a virus?" Spock asked thoughtfully. 

"Oh honey, I left more than one!" She cheered. 

"Let's not pop bottles just yet. Spock, update on the guards?" 

"The guards currently pose no threat," Spock tapped to another section of his PADD screen, "but the alarms have been reset on the upper floors. The only way out is down." 

"Every man for himself," Uhura said immediately, which said more for her priorities than the severity of the situation. 

"Go ahead, but I'm the one with the merchandise." 

"I'm the one with the exit." Spock chimed in. Considering neither of his fellow conspirators had an exit of their own, it would be extremely illogical to split off from the group. For him, however, it was not. 

"And I'm the one with the plan," Kirk said firmly, "Now I know you children don't play with others, but I need you to hold it together for exactly seven more minutes." 

He paused, then continued. "Now, get to the turbolift and hit down. We're going to the burned scam." 

"Going to plan B?" Uhura asked. 

Kirk's laugh rang pleasantly though Spock's earpiece. "Technically, that'd be plan G." 

When Spock reached the turbolift Sulu's pants were around his ankles and a blue button up shirt was hanging limp from his shoulders. Uhura was shimmying into a pencil skirt and her hair was frizzled from the extra friction. She tossed a pair of penny loafers to Spock. 

"Well?" She asked when he hesitated to enter the turbolift. "Are you going to wait around all day or are you going to take off your clothes?" 

Spock chose the latter. 

*** 

Nyota leaned heavily on the crutch and, by the transitive property, on Sulu as well. She slowed her movements to a sluggish pace and cast her eyes to her feet, as if she were carefully judging her steps. 

"Hey, hey, stand still, don't move!" A guard exclaimed, his hand on his weapon holster as he approached. 

"Nice! Would you stare a little more?" Sulu tugged her slightly closer in mock protectiveness. 

"Sorry -" 

"You've gotta be kidding me!" 

"No, Tom, it's okay." She interjected meekly. 

"No, it's not." Spock said from her other side as he held open the front door for her. 

"Sorry." The guard repeated. She met his sympathetic eyes and smiled softly. 

"It's okay." She reassured him before the boys ushered her into their getaway car and Kirk pealed out of the parking lot. 

"Sulu, give Uhura the merchandise so she can send it and we can all get paid." 

"With pleasure, Captain." 

Between Sulu and Spock in the back seat she opened her PADD and set to work. With any luck, she would never see any of them again. Honestly, she could hardly remember their names anymore.

**Author's Note:**

> spoiler alert: they meet again


End file.
